This invention relates to portable shelters, and is particularly directed to foldable portable shelters which are easily erected and when no longer required, can be readily folded into a substantially planar form, and stored or transported for subsequent use.
Conventional portable shelters for the most part are in the form of tent structures requiring the use of stakes, guys, and other structural members for support. Such structures require substantial time to erect, and when disassembled after use and for transporting, such structures are generally bulky and require substantial space particularly for transporting.
More recently, portable, self-supporting and foldable shelters have been developed. Although such self-supporting structures are more readily erected than tents, they are still relatively complex and require a considerable number of parts, and in many instances are not readily foldable into a highly compact form, which requires a minimum amount of space for storage or transporting.
Illustrative of the prior art are the following patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,835,931; 3,640,034; 3,016,115; 3,666,607; 3,332,178; 3,714,749; 3,534,513; and 3,759,277.
It is accordingly one object of the present invention to provide a foldable, portable shelter construction which can be made from inexpensive materials and which can be readily fabricated. Another object is the provision of a foldable, portable shelter of the above type, which is frameless and supported only by the skin or sides of the structure when placed upon the ground. A still further object of the invention is to provide a shelter or building structure of the above type which can be readily erected in a minimum amount of time, and when no longer used, can be as readily folded into a compact substantially planar structure which occupies a minimum of space for storage or transporting.